Actor/Director Desmond Elliot & wife Vickie have just welcomed a new set of twins to their growing family. His wife gave birth to a boy and girl yesterday, this is in addition to 3 year old twin boys, Denzel & Desmond Jr.
Desmond keeps it POPPING! Another set of twins!
Mother and children are said to be doing well.
ABUJA - Half-way into her father’s speech during his public declaration of intention to seek his party’s nomination as presidential candidate in next year’s election, Aisha, senior daughter of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, slumped on the podium.
The wife of Zamfara State Governor Mahmoud Shinkafi stood behind her father on the podium before the incident.
Mrs Shinkafi had arrived at the venue in a black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with a golden insignia on its number plate. She spotted a green flowing Ankara material with the picture of her father embedded in white circles. She had on a black silk head-tie.
She waved excitedly at the crowd, flashing acknowledging smiles as the audience greeted her arrival with a rousing applause.
But as her father read his speech entitled: "Together we shall build a great and prosperous Nigerian nation," she slumped. But for the vigilance and swift reaction of those behind her, including her sister, Halimat and security personnel, she would have fallen badly on the podium.Photo Aisha,Rally Rousers
Mrs Shinkafi was immediately surrounded by security personnel and aides to the former president who quickly provided her with a white plastic chair. They fanned her vigorously with pamphlets on which the programme of event was printed.
Aisha was subsequently given some water. Security men shielded her from public glare. Most people missed the incident as they were fixated on the former President who was reading his speech.
Only those at home who might have been watching the programme live on television would have had an inkling of the incident.
It was also not clear if her father was aware of the incident as he continued his speech without a break.
Pastor Odukoya married his South African wife in January, seven and a half months later in August, she delivered a baby boy amid speculation she was pregnant before they got married. Addressing the issue in Church last week, Pastor Odukoya explained the circumstances that led to the untimely birth of his new baby. He said "I was in England when my wife's emergency call came. She insisted the doctor wanted to see me. I flew to Johannesburg, South Africa immediately. When I got there, the doctor insisted they had to take the baby out. I was wondering and asking God why August, why this time? I battled God severally, but we had no choice than to yield to the doctor's advice. Two days after I got there, they brought the baby out. It was an emergency but God helped us. The baby is doing very well. God has disgraced those counting days for us."They’ve got matching bags and uniforms, but these twins’ teachers will have no bother telling them apart. Marcia has a fair complexion,
with blonde hair, like her mother, while Millie takes after her dad, who
is of Jamaican origin..
As four-year-olds Marcie and Millie Biggs hold hands on their first day
at primary school, it’s hard to believe that Britain’s unlikeliest twins
were almost identical at birth.
But the differences soon became apparent. Blue-eyed Marcia has her mum’s fair complexion and golden brown hair, while Millie takes after Jamaican-born dad Michael. And today they will meet their classmates at Osborne Junior School, Erdington, Birmingham.
Mum Amanda, 42, said: “Everybody is always amazed by how beautiful they have both become, and people still just can’t believe they’re related, let alone sisters. I still get puzzled looks. Millie was more timid and clingy but in the last couple of years she’s come out of her shell a bit. Marcia is a bit bossier and more outgoing – a cheeky monkey.”
Bello Garba Bello, the first son of the late senior official of the state security service killed on Monday in Kano, has allegedly confessed that he was the one who actually stabbed his father, Garba Bello, his mother, Habiba and his three siblings to death in a murder case that has shocked residents of the city.
Twenty-two-year-old Mr Bello (Baba) made this confession yesterday at the headquarters of the Kano State Police Command, Bompai Kano..
The state Police Commissioner, Mohammed J. Gana, showed journalists a handwritten confessional statement allegedly written by the suspect, in which he confessed to killing his family and said that after he killed them, he tried to commit suicide but couldn’t after realising the enormity of what he did.
Mr Bello, who is a 200 level Physics student of the Kano State University of Technology, Wudil (KSUT), had also all egedly confessed, in a hand written statement submitted to the state command of the State Security Service (SSS), that he single-handedly carried out the killings. He also claimed that his anger was that his father was going to die because of his terminal illness and that he could not bear the responsibilities of catering for his mother and siblings that would follow subsequently.
He said in the statement that he stabbed his parents and three of his siblings to death at about 2am on Monday this week. “My father cannot provide for my basic needs, so I killed them all with knives,” the statement to the police reads. “It was painful to me and the entire family. It was an unbearable, irreparable loss. My father has been bedridden and I know he is not going to survive. I did the job alone.
“The intention was to wipe out the entire family and after that, I called my neighbours, Isiaku and Buhari immediately after the incident.”
Speculations not at rest
Security officials say his confession puts to rest speculations about the motive behind the killing of 54-year-old Bello and four members of his family.
The incident also saw 40-year-old Habiba strangulated and three of their children, 16-year-old Hafsat; 14-year-old Khalifa and five-year-old Murjatu murdered in cold blood.
One Umar Danjani, who claimed to be a relation of the deceased SSS official, has, however, disagreed with the police and the said confessional statement of Mr Bello.
Mr Danjani said that Farouk, the other surviving son of the late Bello, told the family that he saw another man who was wearing a white singlet, called Aminu, kill his family members. He also said some neighbours heard the sound of a whistle and sound of many persons.
“This means that the younger Bello did not carry out the killings alone,” he said.
Story from Daily Trust
A TENANT rushes out in terror: He has just heard blood chilling cries from unseen people in his room; another tenant screams as she also dashes out of the kitchen, falling and rolling on the floor as she makes the exit – she has also heard the strange noise from unseen people.
You are welcome to Ile Nla at Oke Imale and Dada Estate areas of Osogbo in Osun State, both of which were believed to be hunted by ghosts; at least until recently.
The tales of woe continued: Neighbours swear that the horrifying experiences happened up till about six years ago.
They told the Nigerian Compass on Saturday that during those fearful days, tenants of both houses would suddenly run out of their rooms screaming that they had just been beaten by unseen hands. Those caught relaxing on the patio at ungodly hours also had tales of woes: They were either overcome by the eerie and unearthly presence of some sort, arrested by incubus or awakened from their light slumber by blood curling wailing coming from only where nobody could tell. Many a time, they had been rudely awakened by unseen hands.
Like its name, which in the Yoruba language means 'Big House', Ile Nla is one large, sprawling mass.
Apart from its size -- about 16 rooms in the main house and many more at the ante section -- there is practically nothing extra-ordinary about the edifice. It is unpainted. The corrugated iron sheets covering the structure are rusty with age; stating the obvious that Ile Nla is by no means a newly erected structure. And, like other houses in that section of the town, it is densely populated. Each room houses at least two persons while some have even more than four cohabiting in them.
The sprawling structure which has only two entrances is always a beehive of activities. If the occupants are not cooking, they are eating and dining. Then, of course, typical of such a setting, there is always bedlam trailing all these communality.
Between Ile Nla and its right hand neighbour is a strip of land. On this narrow strip is a marked grave. It is unpainted but elevated and can be easily sighted by all. But on the way to this tombstone are some ridges of earth. Some are higher than the others while a few seem depressed. Only a very close scrutiny will reveal these ridges are also graves.
In another section of the town is Ile Jesu, translated as Jesus’ House. Painted in the colour of a GSM provider, it stands tall and is imposing as it gazes down, almost in contempt, at other structures which surround it.
Like Ile Nla, Ile Jesu is also not newly constructed. But unlike the former, it is of more modern architectural design.
Also, unlike Ile Nla, which is known and addressed as such by virtually everybody, only a few call the latter by the name, Ile Jesu. Most people, though, will rather not call it by its popular sobriquet, Ile Iwin (House of Demons): in their heart of heart, that is what it is.
Apart from their imposing structures and the fact that they are both located in the culturally rich Osogbo town, both houses share one common denominator: they are both believed to be hunted.
As lively as Ile Nla is now, a couple of years ago contrary was the case. It was a ghost town. Tenants would suddenly run out of their rooms screaming: They had been beaten by unseen hands. Those caught relaxing on the patio at ungodly hours had tales of woes: They were either overcome by the eerie and unearthly presence of some sort, arrested by incubus or awakened from their light slumber by blood curling wailing coming from only where nobody could tell. Many a time, they had been rudely awakened by unseen hands.
But that had not been from the onset.
The house was built by an Osogbo chief who had many wives. As a result of this, he built a house that had many rooms. After his death, the property would naturally be inherited by those it was bequeathed to.
Trouble, according to sources, started when a brother of the late Chief appointed to care of the property allegedly got more interested and wanted to appropriate it for his own.
Expectedly, there was stiff opposition from the children and other members of the extended family. How could only one person appropriate such a large property to himself, they queried.
The man in question was reputed to be highly versed in traditional medicine and charms which he could use without much ado or provocation.
The disenchantment of the direct descendants of the owner of Ile Nla was still on, though kept within the family; until a certain day when the bubble finally burst.
A relation died and most of the children who were either in Lagos or Ibadan came home to commiserate with other members of the family.
After the condolence visit, they bid those in Osogbo bye. It turned out to be their final farewell, one to eternity.
As most of them were headed the same way, Lagos through Ibadan, they decided to embark on the journey in the same vehicle. It was a most unfortunate decision.
A few kilometres from Osogbo, the bus which belonged to one of them had a crash. It was a lone accident, yet all the occupants died. The accident happened barely an hour to the time they departed their father’s house at Oke Imale.
Eleven bodies, male and female, drenched in their own blood with varying degrees of injuries were brought back to Oke Imale. It was a gory sight.
In line with the injunction of their faith, 11 graves were hurriedly dug and the young men and women were committed to the earth. It was barely hours after their departure.
That day, six years ago, was a pathetic one in the State of the Living Spring Capital. Everybody wanted to catch a glimpse of the bodies and -- after they had been buried -- their graves. It was a day even the lame begged to be carried.
Of course, every finger pointed at Baba Rasaki, their uncle, who had been having a running battle with the deceased children of his brother.
Bold and daring, he made no attempt to deny the allegation. At the end of the day, he only escaped being lynched by the whiskers.
Alhaja Sakirat Ibukun is a caterer and she has been a tenant in the house for the past six years. She witnessed the changing fortunes of Ile Nla. Now, she is the undisputed oldest tenant and the rallying spirit of the sprawling house.
“It was a very, very terrible day. To see the bodies of not one, two but 11 people you had just chatted with not quite an hour previously all dead and soaked in blood! Everybody was crying. It was a pitiable sight. But we never knew that worse things were coming.
Some weeks after the burial, things started happening. We would be sitting outside around 7pm or there about, a gush of fierce wind would suddenly rush by. Everywhere would become chilly and we would become swollen-headed.
“That was at the initial stage. Later, you would just start hearing strange sounds. Then it became a weeping sound. In the night, we would be hearing sounds of pellets thrown on the roof top. At times, you would hear knocks at the door. When you got there to open the door, there would be nobody.”
After some time, according to Alhaja Ibukun, people started parking out of the house. “But some of us who had nowhere to go to had to stay. So it became a taboo to come out alone at night. Only the lion-hearted would dare come in late. We were living in a sort of self imposed curfew,” she added.
But all this period what was the condition of the major suspect, the Nigerian Compass on Saturday sought to know.
“Baba Rasaki is a strong medicine man. He moved further down the house, up front. He would lock himself inside wearing his special medicine cloth. At some other time, he would come out chanting incantations and doing all sorts of rituals. He never hid it that he was the target of these angry spirits. He would at times boast that they could do him no harm and that he did not give a hoot about what their reactions were.”
But how was this phenomenon overcome?
“When the trouble started becoming unbearable, we decided to consult some babalawo (Ifa Priests), herbalists and people who could speak to the dead. They all confirmed to us that the noise was coming from the dead children of the house. We were then asked to do some rituals and offer some sacrifices which we did. This was when all hell now broke loose. It was as if we had just gone to provoke them. The attacks now became more and fierce.
“One day, Baba Rasaki was attacked by these unseen beings and for many days he was hanging between life and death.
“All these were happening until a certain friend of mine came to our rescue. After making his own consultations, he asked me to buy some things which I did. He then offered the sacrifices. That was when they revealed that they were not after the tenants but their uncle.”
For their uncle, it was not over yet. To appease the unseen beings or probably fortify himself against further attacks, he was said to have prepared to offer sacrifices to Esu whose shrine is very close to the house. A goat was tied to the stead of Esu. It was there for sometime. Amazingly, on the supposed day of the offering, the goat disappeared into thin air.
If you think somebody must have stolen the goat, then you are not accustomed to the traditional Yoruba belief: only an insane man will steal from Esu.
Ibukun continued: “Nobody knew what happened to the goat. It just disappeared. Then, something strange happened. We learnt that the fortified dress of the man was missing. And sometime, he started behaving funny.”
The man, said to be an ex-soldier was not around when the Nigerian Compass on Saturday called on the hunted house. He was said to have gone out to return at 2pm to come and offer his prayers. Our reporter after failing to convince the neighbours to relay his message to Baba Rasaki left a note at his door which was heavily barricaded.
At exactly 2.05pm when the Nigerian Compass on Saturday returned, he was still not around till around 4.30pm when the reporter finally called it a day.
If tenants were still able to reside at Ile Nla during the period of attacks from the unseen and unknown, residents of Ile Iwin, now called Ile Jesu, could probably not with stand the onslaught from the powers from beyond. Or as argued by some, the troublers of Ile Iwin were more fierce.
Nobody could actually trace the genesis of attacks on Ile Iwin. Also, no one could really say they were ghosts or spirits and this probably explain the sobriquet, Ile Iwin.
Neighbours spoken to by the Nigerian Compass on Saturday would not want to their names in print, neither their photographs. Reason: It now has a new owner, a medical doctor in the State owned Teaching Hospital who is leaving no stones unturned to change people's perception of the house.
“When this house was being hunted, nobody dared stay. Tenants had fled the place with their rent unclaimed or returned for countless number of times. Getting tenants to the place then was usually by ploys. And the victims were mostly non-indigenes or people who were unfamiliar with the happenings,”a source told the Nigerian Compass on Saturday.
The former Ile Iwin is on the way to Dada Estate and very close to the main road. By the un-tarred road that leads to it is a row of shops. And as it casts its formidable gaze on the street, a small wooden plate apparently to convince “cynics” of the current status of the house bears the inscription, Ile Jesu.
Happenings at Ile Iwin were different from those of Ile Nla. According to sources, at a mid-day a blood curling scream would suddenly rent the air. The voice, according to sources, was female. After this, deep groans would be emitted intermittently.
“When these were happening, no human being would be able to withstand it for long. So, all the tenants would flee eventually. There was a time it was used as an office and not a residence. Even those people also ran away. There were reports that whenever they reported for work in the morning they would meet the place in disarray. And this was happening almost on a daily basis. At the end of the day, they ran away.
“After these people, a particular church rented the place. It did not last three months. Despite their incessant prayers and vigils, they could not stay. It was that bad. They were busy telling anyone who could listen that they would drive away whatever it was that was scaring people away. At the end of the day, the reverse was the case.”
But the current occupants of the house say that they have never witnessed any weird occurrence since they packed in there. Such occurrences, according to a woman who claims to be a tenant in the house, are now a thing of the past.
The woman, who led a boy of about three years old, said that she was not aware of the frightening tales hovering around the house before she rented it.
By Kayode Falade
Although the oldest man according to the Guinness World Book of Records is confirmed to have lived only 114 years on earth, which so far, is highly applaudable, there is yet a shocking discovery. At Ogbagi Akoko, in Akoko North Local Government of Ondo State, lives Pa Adekile Omoti whose 140th birthday ceremony was recently celebrated. JIDE OMOJOLOMOJU, in an investigative trip to the serene city, uncovered details of how the wonder man has managed to survive three centuries as against his many counterparts, who barely lived beyond age 70.
According to Erik Erikson’s, “Eight Stages of Life” theory, the human personality is developed in a series of eight stages that take place from the time of birth and continue on throughout an individual’s complete life. He characterises old age as a period of “Integrity versus despair”, during which a person focuses on reflecting back on his life. Those who are unsuccessful during this phase, feel that their life has been wasted and will experience many regrets.The individual will be left with feelings of bitterness and despair. Those who feel proud of their accomplishments, on the other hand, feel a sense of integrity. Successfully completing this phase, means looking back with few regrets and a general feeling of satisfaction. These individuals will attain wisdom, even when confronting death.
For all that is said and obvious of Pa Adekunle Omoti, he is no doubt, a rare specie of human being. He has managed to complete the said eight stages of life and by all standard, set, to face death whenever it shows up with all wisdom and readiness.
Although there were no proper records and data backing this seemingly outrageous age declaration as Omoti was born at a time when not many were literate, he was hell bent on his claim and made an attestable explanations corroborating his claim. Unfortunately, his appearance which would have been an evidence again was quite contradictory. Against a blurred eyesight were clear ones that could see many kilometres away and in place of a breaking voice is a smooth and audible one. Besides, Omoti could walk on his own and still recognises the people around him.
Then the doubts set in! Can this man really be above 100 years and what do they stand to achieve by the allegation?, asked this curious reporter. But Pa Omoti was too sure.
According to him,he was born at a time when cowries was the currency of exchange and this dated three centuries back. “ I cannot remember exactly when I was born because no one cared about all these data you keep these days but then, they were the days of cowries and it was long ago,” he recalled.
Apart from this, he referred to some significant landmarks and events he witnessed pointing to the affirmation of his age. By his memory, which appeared unusually sound still, Pa Omoti, had witnessed the reigns of four different Obas in Ogbagi town, and was present at the coronation of three of the monarchs, including incumbent. In his words, he grew up to know the most ancient of them; Oba Aboyinbogoke Ojuko on the throne who according to oral traditions,died in the early years of the 20th century,in the early 1920s and was said to have reigned for over 50 years.
Reeling off the names of the monarchs whose coronations he witnessed, Pa Omoti mentioned Oba Omoeegun Omolola Amerijoye, Oba Saliu. A. Bakare Oloriki II and the incumbent Oba Victor Adetona, Odagbaragaja III, whose ascension to the throne was only last year.
Oba Amerijoye reigned between 1929 and 1962, a period of 33 years while Oba Bakare reigned from August 6, 1967 to November 11, 2006, a period of 39 years and 96 days.
To further buttress the authenticity of his age, Pa Omoti said he was a very small boy when Christianity was brought into Ogbagi, through an Ijebu man, though, he couldn’t remember the Ijebu man’s name, but he knew him very well. He said that at that time, the story he was told was that the first set of believers were taken to prison in Kabba, for simply becoming Christians. He added that when he was growing up, whenever the Christians were going about with their preaching, as a child, he would always follow them around.
Investigations by the Nigerian Compass on Sunday revealed that the first denomination to come to Ogbagi was the Anglican Communion. The Saint John’s Anglican Church, Ogbagi was established in 1886, through the efforts of an Ijebu man, who was a trader. Its primary school was established in 1926, 40 years after the church was established. Efforts by the Nigerian Compass to speak with the vicar of the Saint John’s Anglican Church were unsuccessful as he was said to be out of town.
A simple calculation will suffice here: From 1886, when the Anglican church was established in Ogbagi to date is a period of 124 years. Assuming Pa Omoti was between 7 and 10 years of age when the church was established, that would safely put his age between 131 and 134 years.
He said that he grew up to know Ogbagi then as a scattered settlement, made up of five different quarters, demarcated by bushes, but which, however, have now become one a big town. His father, Omoti, was a poor man who found it difficult to make ends meet and at an early age, he was used as collateral for a loan, equivalent to N12.25 kobo, his father took in Ikare, the headquarters of the Akoko North Local Government Area, where he started his early years as a slave which the Yorubas popularly termed an iwofa, a term for someone used as collateral for a loan. He would stay at Ikare working for his father’s creditor, with many others, until the loan was repaid.
Pa Omoti lost his father at a very early age, even though he could not remember how old he was then, but he knew when his father died.
He was a workaholic. He was a farmer through and through. He said that after the death of his father, he suffered a great deal, because help was not forthcoming from any where. His mother had to take him to Ilesa, in present day Osun State, to learn carpentry, but that was shortlived as his mother died exactly three months after he began his apprenticeship, thus putting paid to that dream of becoming a carpenter.
Then, he came back to Ogbagi to start work as a farmer. The first hurdle he had to cross was getting a piece of land, as his brothers and uncles had appropriated what belonged to his father. He began going to farm with his maternal uncle, where he actually went through hell. He would only eat after every member of the household had had their fill. And God help him, if he fails to obey the instruction of the uncle’s wife, then he may have to go for days without food, as she would starve him and the others living under wings of the uncle.
He said in all his troubles in his early life, it was his mother’s friend, one Alhaja, who took care of him. He recollected that his elder sister, never wanted to assist him, even with food. She would always say that if the uncle he stays with cannot feed him, then that was his own problem. She would in his presence keep her food, even left-overs
He went through all these suffering without any help from anywhere until he was able to start a little farming of his own, after securing a piece of land through the benevolence of a good Samaritan. He made his first real money (cowries) when his mother’s friend helped him sell his tobacco and cassava. What he first made was five pounds, an equivalent of modern day N10. He recollected that that was a lot of money in those days.
Thereafter, he started trading. He would go to Owo to buy mats, bring the mats down to Ogbagi to sell. There were very few cars, so most times he trekked to the market. From Owo, he would go to Ibadan to buy clothes, too and brought them to Ogbagi to sell. He recollected that the trade was very profitable.
Because of the travails he faced in life, Pa Omoti did not get married when his contemporaries were getting married. According to him, he did not want to bring any child into the world to suffer the kind of deprivations he went through. So by the time he married his first wife, Olayemi, most of his age mates were almost done with child bearing, with many of them having as many as five, six
children.
After Olayemi, he married another wife, Yetunde, because of the belief then that the number of your children determined how much wealth you have. He said that both wives were blessed with children, when asked how many children he has, saying that in Yoruba land, you don’t count the number of children a man has - “A kii ka omo fun olomo,” he said.
However, the Nigerian Compass on Sunday met many of his children during the visit to Ogbagi. Though, we were unable to meet his first surviving child, Oni, a female, married to the Ebiotomi family, allegedly said to be above 70 years of age, we also met his first surviving son, Sunday, aged 65 years and Olu, 50, through whom the Nigerian Compass on Sunday learnt of the great grandfather’s existence. We also met with his last son, Adefarati, who has been saddled with the responsibility of taking care of Pa Omoti.
However, Omoti had not been spared the harsh cost of extra aged life. Before now, he had lost two sons – Ojo and Biodun, who by the common obtainance this age, died between 72 and 75 years on earth. To the deceased children, their fathers’ death were no tragedy but for their grand father who was supposed not to have witnessed his child’s death had he not been destined to live longer than his children. But the old man never allowed the loss of his first two children to affect his countenance as he had accepted all as his fate.
When asked what has kept him going all these years, Pa Omoti disclosed that in their days, they eat good food, fresh from the farm and work hard. These, he said, kept men and women of his time in fit shape, unlike these days when young men laze about, looking for money without working for it.
In a bid to assert the authenticity of Omoti’s age, the Nigerian Compass on Sunday met with another indigene of the town and a one-time colleague of Pa Omoti at the Nigerian Railway Corporation.. Prince Ayo Adeyemo, who retired in 1978, threw more light on Pa Omoti,s probable age.
He said “ Pa Omoti was an old man before he joined the service. Although I cannot really determine his age because of lack of records, I am sure he was above 80 years of age.” He added that he came to Lagos in 1956, after which he joined the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
“ I grew up to know Pa Omoti as an octogenarian and as a matter of fact, I am a contemporary of his fourth child, so, there is no doubt that the man is about the oldest around here,” he said.
But for lack of proper record and data, which has been the bane of a lot of historical facts in this part of the world, Pa Omoti’s name should have entered the Guinness Book of records.
Catholic Priests in Benue State have recently come under attacks of armed robbers.
The bandits used to carry out the attacks after thanksgiving services in honour of politicians.
The most recent incident was at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Naka, Gwer West Local Government Area.
The thanksgiving service was organized in honour of Governor Gabriel Suswam, who on behalf of the Government donated the sum of N3million cash for the building of a church.
The Nigerian Compass gathered that the robbers broke into the parish Father’s house where Rev. Fr. Thomas Orhena was attacked alongside his servants. Luckily for the parish, the robbers could not get the N3million realised at the service, because the parish priest was said to have taken the money for safe keeping.
An anonymous source told the Nigerian Compass that the robbers raided the church for over three hours, shooting sporadically into the air. Even though they could not get their hands on the much desired money, they refused to leave the parish empty handed, thus they carted away valuable items worth millions of naira.
The Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed, confirmed the attack, adding that similar incidents had taken place at Gboko and Buruku towns, where robbers attacked churches after thanksgiving, intimating that his men had since arrested some of the robbers who will soon appear in court.
Mohammed said his men were on top of the incident in forestalling incessant attacks by armed robbers on churches, after political thanksgiving services in the state. He urged members of the public to avail the police of useful information on the movement of youths after such thanksgiving services to assist the police track down the robbers.
“There is no cause for alarm as the police are on top of the situation. We have arrested six of such robbers and they would be arraigned in court for prosecution,” said Mohammed.
Director of Communications, Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, Reverend Father Gabriel Wankar, who spoke in a telephone interview with the Nigerian Compass, described the attack on Saint Theresa’s Parish, Naka and other churches by robbers as unfortunate, and called on law enforcement agencies to beef up security around churches.
services to the Nigerian people as a candidate for the office of President in the forth coming 2011 elections".
Hear him:"Dear compatriots, four months ago, providence placed me at the leadership of our dear country, following the untimely death of our dear former President, my brother and leader, President Umaru Musa Yar’adua. It was a very solemn and trying moment for me personally and for the country as a whole. My immediate task and priority was and still remains to give the nation purposeful leadership and to focus on the priorities of our administration in order to maintain national peace and stability and pursue our key development priorities..
In these few months as leader of the country, I have concentrated on managing the affairs of the nation, and resisted all efforts to respond to the drums of partisan politics which have been sounding very loud across the land. "As President and leader of government, I decided not to place partisan politics above the immediate needs and priorities of our people.
I came under intense pressure to make a declaration concerning my political future, but declined to do so because that would have immediately distracted us from all the development initiatives we have accomplished so far. I therefore told Nigerians to give me time to concentrate on my work and that at the appropriate time I would make a public statement on my political future after due consultations with all the segments and leaders of our nation".
"Today, I confirm that after wide and thorough consultations spanning the six geo-political zones that make up Nigeria, with members of my family, my party, the opposition, civil society, the Private Sector, members of the Labour Unions, religious leaders, youths and student groups and our revered traditional institutions, I Goodluck Ebele Jonathan by the grace of God hereby offer myself and my services to the Nigerian people as a candidate for the office of President in the forth coming 2011 elections. In presenting myself for service, I make no pretense that I have a magic wand that will solve all of Nigeria’s problems or that I am the most intelligent Nigerian. Far from it.
What I do promise is this – If I am elected President in 2011, I will make a covenant with you the Nigerian people to always do right by you, to tell you the truth at all times, to carry you along and most importantly to listen to you, fellow citizens in our communities and also those of you on this page. I do not want to win your affections by giving you promises of things I would do in the future which others before me have given and which have largely been unfulfilled. Rather, I would want you to judge me by my records. Since God Almighty and yourselves permitted me to serve you in the present capacity, I have busied myself with setting Nigeria on the path of peace and progress"..
"My team and I made no promises on adequate fuel supply in Nigeria. We simply did what was expected of those who govern, we delivered it, and you are living witnesses to that. We made no promise to revamp the textile industry. We delivered a bailout package worth 150 billion naira that is being dispensed as I write. We made no promises of securing the highest U.S Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation clearance, the Category 1 Certificate which enables Nigerian registered airlines to fly to ANY U.S city. We delivered. We made no promise to give Nigeria a brand new INEC under a proven God-fearing and incorruptible leader. We placed Nigeria first and delivered. We made no promises of protecting your loans, deposits and investments in the banking industry over and beyond what is covered under the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Scheme. We delivered it via AMCON.
Rather than tell you what we could do to improve power, this administration demonstrated it by initiating a brand new national Super Grid as well as launching a concrete Road Map to the Power Sector with realistic goals tied to realistic dates. I understand from some of your mails that there has been some small improvements in electricity supply in some communities. We met an economy that was beginning to slow due to the global recession. Today, the economy has verifiably grown by 7% this half year ending in June".
"I know you are tired of empty promises, so I will make only one promise to you today. The only promise I make to you my friends, fellow citizens and Nigeria, is to promise LESS and deliver MORE if I am elected. I call on you to join me to work together in harmony and synergy to forge a nation where we understand our differences instead of pretending they do not exist and work towards a perfect union founded on transparency, equity and justice.
A nation that is on her way to repairing her International reputation and project to the world that things have changed and the people of Nigeria have now taken Nigeria back from a few into the hands of her people who are eager, very eager to pull her weight in the forward movement of the African continent and the world in the pursuit of peace, prosperity and happiness.I will by the special grace of God be making a formal declaration to this effect at the Eagle’s Square, Abuja, on Saturday 18 September 2011".
"I call on you my friends on this page and all Nigerians to give me your support and prayers so that together we can liberate our country from the confines and self –inflicted wounds and limitations of the past. My dear friends and fellow citizens, to borrow an often used slogan by our youths, please join me in proclaiming: Forward Ever, Backward Never! Please let us all unite across tongue and creed to move our long suffering nation forward together. I thank you and may God bless our country Nigeria. GEJ."
By Nick Tattersall and Chijioke Ohuocha
LAGOS (Reuters)
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday declared his intention to run in January elections on social networking site Facebook, in an apparent bid to divert attention from a rally being held by a key rival.
A statement appeared on Jonathan's Facebook page announcing his intention to run as thousands of people convened in a square in the capital Abuja for the campaign launch of his rival, former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida.
"Today I confirm that after wide and thorough consultations ... I Goodluck Ebele Jonathan by the grace of God hereby offer myself and my services to the Nigerian people as a candidate for the office of President in the forthcoming 2011 elections," the statement on Jonathan's Facebook page said.
It said he would make a formal declaration in the capital Abuja on Saturday on his intention to run for the leadership of Africa's most populous nation.
Presidency officials could not be reached for comment.
Jonathan's election bid is controversial because of an agreement in the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) that power should rotate between the mostly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south every two terms.
Jonathan, who is from the Niger Delta in the south, inherited the presidency when late northern president Umaru Yar'Adua died earlier this year during his first term, and some powerbrokers within the PDP say the next leader must be a northerner.
The Facebook statement said Jonathan had decided to run after consultations with the country's six geo-political zones, the ruling party, the opposition, civil society, labour unions and religious leaders.
Buba Galadima, an aide to former military ruler and potential opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari, criticised Jonathan's plans to contest.
"It is an act of bad faith, the articles in the PDP constitution clearly stipulated zoning for political positions. For the president to have jettisoned that is an act of bad faith which means as a leader he cannot be trusted," he said.
Jonathan also faces competition from within the PDP.
Both Babangida and former vice president Atiku Abubakar have said they will run against him for the PDP nomination and other northerners, including Kwara state governor Bukola Saraki and national security adviser Aliyu Gusau, are also expected to seek the party's ticket.
Jonathan and his office have been officially coy on whether or not he will stand, but a recent reshuffle of the military top brass and policy announcements akin to campaign promises -- from privatising the power sector to setting up a sovereign wealth fund -- left few Nigerians in much doubt over his plans.
His choice of Facebook to announce his intentions was a surprise. The majority of Nigeria's 150 million people live on $2 a day or less and have limited access to clean water and electricity, let alone the Internet..
But the country has nonetheless overtaken South Africa as the continent's top mobile phone market and is estimated to have the largest online audience in Africa.
Enough Is Enough, a civil society group hoping to encourage young people to take an active role in Nigeria's elections, estimates there are more than 1.6 million Facebook users in Nigeria.
TMZ is reporting that Montana Fishburne has checked into a facility that specialize in anger management and mental health issues.
Montana Fishburne — aspiring sex tape star and daughter of Laurence Fishburne — is checking herself into an inpatient facility that specializes in anger management, behavioral problems and mental illnesses … sources tell TMZ.
We’re told the facility is in Southern California and Montana will be there at least 30 days. Sources say part of Montana’s stay will be devoted to anger issues, but she’ll also undergo diagnostic tests to determine if there are underlying behavioral or mental issues.
The police in Ogun have held three members of a five-man armed robbery gang, just as they were burying their leader, who was shot dead during an operation at Ijebu-Ode.
The three suspects, arrested at the cemetery, had been identified as Mafee Alex, Sunday John and Shoboyejo Ishahu.
Ogun State police spokesman, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi said that on August 16, 2010, at about 7:30 a.m, the command received information that one Solomon, a suspected robber, was killed during crossfire operation and buried at a cemetry in Ikenne, Ogun State, by his gang.
“Upon receiving this information, policemen attached to Ikenne Division swung into action,” Adejobi said. “Many indigenes of the town gave us useful information, which led to the arrest of the suspects.”
One of the suspects, Alex, confessed to being a member of the gang, adding that the gang leader, Solomon, was shot dead during an operation at Ijebu-Ode.
Alex told the Nigerian Compass how the gang went to rob victims who put up a brave front and resisted the armed attack.
According to him, Solomon sustained injury from a gunshot during the operation and later died.
“But to avoid being detected by the police, we hurriedly planned his burial. We bought a space at a cemetry in Ikenne to bury him,” said Alex. “We told his wife and other family members that the deceased sustained injury in a motor accident. However, unknown to us, some members of the community who had been monitoring our activities, informed the police about our movement in the community. We were later arrested.”
Adejobi said that Solomon’s elder brother was in church, when people informed him about the death of his kid brother.
Adejobi explained that the elder brother to the deceased confessed to police that his younger brother’s friends told him that the man was involved in a road accident.
But he had immediately suspected a foul play because the wound he saw on Solomon’s leg, looked like one inflicted by a bullet.
Items recovered from the suspects included one pump action gun, three live cartridges, one barreta pistol, one Nokia handset and a bag containing laptop and charms.
Adejobi told the Nigerian Compass that the suspects would soon be charged to court.
In another development, Mayowa Abegunrin, a primary five pupil, has been held over the killing of his stepmother, Mrs. Modinat Abegunrin.
The suspect, Mayowa looked very innocent with nothing to suggest that he could hurt a fly, let alone kill a human being. People at the police command, especially women, thought that police had mistaken the boy for somebody. As far as they were concerned, he could not have killed anybody.
Adejobi said people were shocked when the young boy, without mincing words, confessed to have actually killed the victim.
Adejobi said: “On August 14, 2010, at about 9:00a.m, one Alfred Sofela, of Amusa Sapotu village, via Odeda in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State, was the person who reported the case at Odeda Police Station, that one 12-year-old Mayowa Abegunrin, of same village, used his grandfather’s Dane gun to shoot his stepmother and killed her. The suspect was arrested and the case is under investigation at the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Abeokuta.
The boy said: “My name is Mayowa Abegunrin. I am in primary five. The woman was my step-mother. I lived in the village with my grandfather, while my step-mother lived in Lagos with my daddy. My own mother is no longer with my daddy. My step-mother only came to visit my grandfather. It’s unfortunate that the woman died. She was my stepmother and we had a good relationship, but we used to quarrel once in a while.
“On that fateful day, I woke up very early and after doing all necessary house chores like washing and fetching water from the stream, she said I should start peeling Cassava. At that stage, I became annoyed. I went to complain to her that the job was too much for me; that I needed time to rest. She refused to understand my plight. She started abusing me. I became annoyed and I went to take my grandfather’s gun and shot her on the chest. She died on the spot.”
The suspect’s grandfather, Pa Abegunrin, 75, told the police that he is a farmer and also hunted animals on the side. He explained that the Dane gun used to kill the woman belonged to him.
The old man, who attributed the incident to the Devil, said: “We have been living together for some years now. The boy’s father is my own son. The child is a gentle boy, which was why I was surprised, when they told me of the incident. I was not around when the incident occurred, but when I returned, people told me that he had killed his step-mother.”
The Commissioner of Police, Musa Daura, urged parents not to keep live ammunition at home to avoid unpleasant incidents.
Daura added: “We have been advising members of the public to desist from keeping live ammunition at home! It’s illegal! Imagine the fate of this under- aged boy now. The grandfather too will be charged to court for being in possession of live ammunition. People who have guns at home should come forward to register them and obtain license. It is illegal to keep guns at home without valid papers.”
When Mrs. Josephine Chukwu, 40, was evicted from her residence by her landlord, and her bossom friend, Mrs. Ann Madukwe offered to accommodate her temporarily until she secured another accommodation, she must have thought a new lease of life had finally come her way.
She must have thought that her best friend, whom she had known for the past 18 years had brought back hope to her life.
Mrs. Chukwu apparently must have thought that her friend, who accommodated, paid for her shop and took a loan worth N165,000 on her behalf to start business, must be God sent.
Little did she know that the home where everything was provided for her, was where she would be murdered by no other person than her best friend’s young son.
When Mrs. Chukwu, who hails from Ogwu in Enugu State, was evicted by her landlord for whatever reason, the first person she thought of who could assist her out of the problem, was her friend, Mrs. Ann Madukwe who immediately offered to accommodate her, pending when she would get her own apartment.
After living with her friend and the children for three and half years, Josephine’s life was brought to an abrupt end by one of her friend’s children, known as Marcelenus Madukwe.
Marcelinus later claimed to have been under depression at the time he was pummeling the victim to death.
Homicide detectives alleged that the suspect, after beating the victim black and blue, dragged her by the hair down the building staircase.
A police source said: “The victim was taken to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital(LUTH), where she died of internal bleeding. Since her death, the victim’s children have been filled with horror.
Her first daughter just graduated from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. She has two children; ages 25 and 22.
When the Nigerian Compass asked him what led to his beating the deceased, he said: “I really cannot say exactly what happened. I can’t even remember what happened! I only found myself in the hospital and I was told that I beat up Josephine and that she was taken to the hospital where we started praying for her.
“My mother did everything possible to make sure she lives. She paid all the bills to make sure she was alive, but she couldn’t make it as she finally died.
“I am a student of the University of Lagos, Political Science department. I just finished my Diploma and was about to further as a direct entry student before this incident occurred.
“Josephine had been living with us for the past three years. I knew her, way back when she was working as a house-help for our former landlord. When she was kicked out by her landlord, my mother provided help for her by allowing her to live with us. My mother also rented a shop for her where she started selling bags of rice.
“Ever since, we had been family friends and we’ve been living together. I have not gotten into any problem that will lead me to police.
“My father left us, and went to London for the past nine years, and I and my siblings had been struggling to make ends meet. I have never committed any crime before, I haven’t beaten anyone in my life before. I used to help people and they pay me what ever they have.
“All these things happened while I was alone in the house. You know we have this mental problem that runs in our family.
“My elder brother is mentally sick, and whenever he was about to start making trouble, I was always there to hold him down. He has been diagnosed of mental illness on three occasions and all the medical reports are there.
“I also have a medical report that diagnosed me of the same illness. My doctor says it’s depression. The doctor said it comes as a result of stress. Unfortunately, when my own mental illness started, there was nobody to hold me and that led me to this problem.
“That day when this incident happened, I was alone in the house. I heard a knock on the door and I went to open the door. When I opened the door, I never knew what happened next, I really cannot say exactly what happened. I couldn’t even remember what happened, I only saw myself in the hospital and I was told that I beat up Josephine and that she was taken to the hospital where we started praying for her. My mother did everything possible; paid all the bills to make sure she was alive, but she couldn’t make it as she finally died.
“We were told at the hospital that she needed blood, so we tried to provide the blood and my mother also told me to also pray for myself.
“The incident took place between afternoon and evening. This is the first time I had ever witnessed this kind of illness. It has never happened to me except my brother who has been suffering from it.
“When I was taken to the hospital, I was told I was running round the streets naked. When this thing comes, it makes someone to be very aggressive. And I have been told that this problem runs in my family.”
When the Nigerian Compass visited the home of Marcelinus where the incident took place, his mother said: “I am the mother of Marcelinus. I was at my shop when I received a call that I should come home that something was wrong in my house.
“When I got home, I saw my son’s hand being tied with rope, and when I asked what happened, I was told he had a fight with Josephine and that she was taken to the hospital.
“Josephine had been a friend and I harboured her in my house for over three and half years, and during this period, there had never been any problem between us.
“I have known her for the past 18 years; right from the time she was living with her husband before they got divorced. After their divorce, I was the person that helped her get the shop where she started selling rice until this unfortunate incident.
“When I was told that my son was running round the street naked, I chartered a taxi and took him to YC Clinic, a private psychiatric hospital, where his elder brother was treated of a mental illness sometime ago.
“After taking him to the hospital, I moved to LUTH, where Josephine was admitted to find out the state of her health. When I got there, I was told by the doctor that money was needed to commence treatment and I provided N17,000 as demanded by the doctor so as to commence treatment.
“On Monday, people from her village started calling. I picked the calls as they come in; I told them the situation on ground as regards her health. Her daughter that stays in the East, came on Tuesday night after she learnt that her mother was admitted in the hospital following a fight with my son, and thereafter all of us started working as a team to revive her.
“We did everything possible to revive her; we bought all the prescribed drugs, but unfortunately, on Sunday morning, she gave up the ghost. The incident happened on August 14, and she died on August 22.
“While I was at the hospital attending to Josephine before she died, the doctor at the hospital where my son was admitted kept calling and asking why I abandoned my son to him, and I told him that I was attending to a more serious and sensitive case that had to do with human life. It was after she died that I went and saw my son, where he was still being attended to by the doctor.
“That very day the police came for arrest. I was not at home but my younger sister who was at home was arrested and taken to the hospital where my son was admitted.
“When the police got there, they collected her statement and later in the evening, they came with their van and took Marcelinus away in handcuff. The case has now been transferred from Itire police station to CID Panti.”
When the Nigerian Compass asked to know if her son had told her the reasons for his action, she said: “No, he didn’t tell me anything. When I asked him what happened, he said he could not say exactly what happened or what led to the fight or if he actually fought at the said time.
She added: “My brother, I am really surprised at what happened. He had never done this before; he had never fought with anyone before. I think this is the devil’s work, the devil wants to bring shame to my family.”
Asked whether her son suffers from any mental problem, she replied: “I told you he never did it intentionally; he hasn’t done such thing before. When I came back from my shop, he was tied both hands behind because he was running round the street half naked and beating people.
“So that shows that something went wrong somewhere. Actually, one of my sons that is directly older than him, had similar problem and he was taken to the psychiatric hospital, where he was treated for mental illness.
But for Marcelinus, he has never done this before. I never knew he could also develop this kind of problem.
“We went for a peace talk with the family of Josephine, but they threatened to deal with us. However, since the case has been handled by the police, they are somehow restrained from carrying out any action against us.
She has not been buried yet. We are still looking for money for her burial. When the money is ready, we will bury her.”
The Nigerian Compass, however, visited the clinic where Marcelinus was allegedly taken to; unfortunately, the doctor had gone to church.
But not still satisfied, the Nigerian Compass reporter, who wanted to carry out an intensive investigation on the matter, put a call through to the doctor and he responded.
Here goes the conversation between the reporter and Dr. Ogbolu R. Emeka, Consultant Psychiatrist, YC Clinic, 25, Lawani Street, Surulere, Lagos.
Good day doctor.
Good day sir.
I am Godwin Akpan of the Nigerian Compass newspaper, doctor.
Oh! Compass? How are you, any problems?
Yes sir. I called in respect of a case involving one of your patients, Mr. Marcelinus Madukwe.
Yes, I know him.
Doctor, can you tell us what you know about him?
Yes! He was brought to my clinic for a case of a mental imbalance. He was said to have developed an aggressive, disruptive and talkative behavior. This followed sleepless night for about three days duration.
On presentation, he was very uncooperative and had to be sedated. Upon review, he was very restless, laughing inappropriately, and intrusive. His speech was excessive with a high tone and it was full of persecutory themes.
There was circumstantiality. The effect was quite irritable and euphoric and he had persecutory delusions and his concentration was poor. He lacked insight into his problem.
We managed him as a case of acute psychiatric disorder and he was placed on antipsychotics (haloperidol and chlorpromazine) as well as a sedative (diazepam) due to financial constraints, laboratory investigations could not be carried out, including a urine drug screen. His condition began to improve after three days and the improvement continued until he was involuntarily discharged.
He will benefit from continued treatment in order to prevent a relapse, especially as there is a positive family history of mental disorder in a brother of his. This will help him to remain well and stable. This is my professional assessment.
The police spokesperson, Frank Mba, however told journalists that although the suspect was claiming to be insane, he would be subjected to a psychological and psychiatric test.
His words: “The incident actually took place on August 22. It occurred at 38, Akinfunmi Street, Itire, Lagos. The summary of the case is this: the young man Marcelinus Manukwe, who claimed to be a student of University of Lagos, has always been living with the mother.
“The victim, who is identified as Josephine Chukwu, aged 40, who is now late also lived with the family of Manukwe. Josephine was said to be having accommodation problem and the mother of Marcelinus offered to accommodate her temporarily. But on the date mentioned, under circumstances that is still shrouded in mystery, Marcelinus engaged the woman in a physical fight and she was beaten to coma. The victim was eventually rushed to the hospital but she finally died.
“The case was initially reported at Itire Police Station from where it was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID ), Panti, Yaba.
“The body has been deposited at the mortuary, autopsy has been carried out, but the result is being expected from the Pathologist. So far Marcelinus has not been able to explain what provoked him into beating the deceased to death, but he has managed to tell us that he was in a state of depression and that he was not in the right frame of mind.
“I want us to look at Section 27 of the criminal code: the section says ‘every person is presumed to be of sound minds and to have been of sound mind at any time which comes in question until the contrary’.
“The implication of this section is that generally, all of us are presumed to be sane. However, when insanity is pleaded and established, it goes a long way to affect the entire criminal liability.
“Section 28 says, ‘a person is not criminally responsible for an act or omission, if at the time of doing the act or making the omission he is in a state of mental disease or natural mental infirmity as to deprive him of the capacity to understand what he is doing or capacity to control his action or capacity to know that he ought not to do the act or the omission’.
“The implication of this is that, if you claim and can be able to defend that you are mentally unstable at the time you carried out an action, you therefore have a defensive tool in your hand.
“However, what is strange in this case is the fact that Marcelinus is claiming insanity himself. This is a very strange thing for those of us that have been in criminal investigation, because often time you don’t find the suspect saying I did this for this reason, they always say: ‘I was mad’. I did it because I wasn’t in my illusive interval, I did it because I was having a mental illness and so on.
“What we intend to do is to subject him to a psychological and psychiatric test. “Since the suspect has raised the defense of insanity himself, we will reach out to psychiatrists who will investigate and give us their own professional assessment of the situation.
“At the moment, we will be proceeding on the assumption that the suspect is sane as provided by section 27 of the criminal code.”
•Jonathan appoints Tafida, Sambawa, Gulak, Dawaki as Campaign Directors
•Atiku takes ambition to 'Facebook', 'Twitter', may be granted waiver by PDP
ABUJA, the nation’s capital, will today welcome 7,300 campaigners and thousands of others, courtesy of former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd).
After weeks of direct and indirect campaigns, Babangida, Nigeria’s eighth Commander-in-Chief, will formally launch his attempt to return to Aso Rock Presidential Villa, 17 years after he was forced to step aside. Venue is the Eagle Square.
The Nigerian Compass learnt last night that his campaign organisation, led by the Chairman of Daar Communications, Dr. Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi, has mobilised 200 campaigners from each of the 36 states and 100 from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for the “mother of all rallies”.
It was gathered that most of the hotels in Abuja “have been taken over by the campaigners because some of them cannot return to their bases tomorrow (today)”.
The 200 followers from Bayelsa State left Yenagoa, the state capital, for Abuja early yesterday to grace the official flag off of Babangida’s presidential ambition.
They took off from the IBB Campaign Office on Imgbi Road, Amarata, in about 20 18-seater buses as early as 7 a.m.
The state Coordinator of the IBB campaign outfit, Alaowei Opukeme, said more persons are expected to join the train in Abuja by air today.
According to him, the movement would do everything possible to garner support for Babangida in his aspiration to get the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket.
Some of the campaigners with branded T-shirts adorned with Babangida’s photograph and PDP logo were seen in some of the hotels in Abuja and Eagle Square yesterday in a festive mood.
One of the members of the campaign organisation said Nigerians would today know “after the rally that General Babangida is serious about his determination to govern Nigeria again and correct past mistakes”.
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan, who will launch his campaign on Saturday, has nominated some members of his campaign team.
Some of those given the task to ensure the return of Jonathan to Aso Rock next year are: Alhaji Ahmed Ali Gulak, Director Contacts and Mobilisation; Isiamila Sambawa, Director of Media and Rev. Habu Dawaki, Director, Youth Affairs.
According to a Presidency source, the Nigerian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Senator Dalhatu Tafida, has been confirmed by Jonathan as his campaign Director-General.
Tafida’s name was earlier dropped, but was kicked against by some members of Jonathan Support Groups.
Gulak and Sambawa are National Coordinator and National Publicity Secretary of Goodluck Support Group (GSG) respectively.
While Gulak was former Speaker, Adamawa State House of Assembly and presidential aide, Sambawa was a minister in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration and governorship aspirant in the 2007 elections in Kebbi State.
Said the source: “It is a sure banker that President Goodluck Jonathan will declare on Saturday. The date is a sure one.”
To ensure the success of the event on Saturday, the GSG has called on all coordinators of Jonathan Support Groups to send, at least, 60 people to Abuja for the declaration.
Determined to ensure an all-inclusive participation in his campaign, another aspirant and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has launched a new campaign website.
The website: www.atiku.org, is aimed at giving all Nigerians, including those living abroad , an opportunity to make input into his campaign.
“I want to run an inclusive campaign. I want to hear from all Nigerians and respond to their questions and concerns,” Atiku declared yesterday in a statement released by his campaign office in Abuja.
The website, which was launched on Monday, September 13, 2010, according to the statement, has already attracted over 2000 hits in less than 24 hours.
It added that Atiku also launched his presence in the social interactive media-Twitter and Facebook-as a way of attracting younger Nigerians to support his candidacy and to buy into his message of hope, experience and visionary leadership.
Said the statement: “The social media has generated over a thousand followers and supporters with exciting comments and contributions within 24 hours of launch.
“Atiku has acknowledged and appreciated the inputs and the huge traffic of comments so far made and has called on other Nigerians to link up with him through these communication channels to make good things happen.
“Atiku can be reached on facebook.com/atiku2011, while on Twitter at twitter.com/atiku11.
“Atiku’s Policy Document containing his five key priority areas and how he plans to address the many challenges facing the country is on the website for the review and critique of Nigerians.
“The Policy Document was produced after many studies and brain storming sessions by Nigerians of different academic and professional backgrounds.
“The initiatives have been reviewed and critique by many Nigerians. But no other platform gives us a wider forum for consultation with millions of Nigerians.
“I welcome Nigerians to review and critique the policy initiatives for us to move the country at a fast rate,” the former Vice-President and Presidential candidate of the Action Congress (AC) in the 2007 general elections said.
Meanwhile, as the emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP holds today, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) was yesterday locked in a marathon session to tidy up the memo to be submitted to the NEC.
Atiku’s waiver, according to a source at the meeting, was having some hitches due to mounting opposition from Adamawa, his home state.
According to the source, the NWC was trying to surmount the obstacle so that Atiku would be given an opportunity to compete for the party’s presidential ticket.
“The NWC is trying to play safe by giving equal opportunities to all aspirants who want to slug it out at the primaries. Whoever fails at the primary will not lay the blame at the door step of the NWC.
“The greatest fear of Nwodo is how to overcome division after the party primaries. This is why he is determined to give all aspirants the opportunity to test their popularity at the party’s primaries including a female aspirant.”
Atiku, who visited the PDP recently when the party secretariat got burnt, told reporters that there was no cause for alarm over his waiver.
He said that he had applied for the waiver through his state chapter of the party, adding that he had secured the assurance of the Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo-led NWC that he would be given the waiver.
But it was learnt that the Governor Murtala Nyako faction of the PDP in Adamawa State is unrelenting in its opposition to Atiku.
By the meeting of yesterday, the NWC hopes to tidy all loose ends “so that the waiver could be granted seamlessly by NEC.”
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Alkali, had Monday night said that there would be an emergency NEC but did not give details why the meeting was being called.
The NEC also coincided with Babangida’s declaration. The former military President has already taken an advantage of the NEC meeting by erecting an imposing billboard, welcoming the delegates to the meeting.
TO ensure a hitch-free election next year, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Eugene Amaju, has urged traditional rulers in the FCT to encourage politicians not to rig elections or circumvent the rules of the game.
The REC, who dropped the charge in the Abaji Area Council, during his maiden visit to the council to ascertain the level of preparation for the forth coming voters registration, stated that the new Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will not condone any connivance between the royal fathers and unscrupulous politicians.
Amaju, who was at the Palace of Ona of Abaji, Dr Adamu Baba Yunusa, told traditional rulers to avoid politicians who normally hide under the influence of the palace as a revered place to engage in illegal thumb printing.
The REC stated that monarchs and other traditional Council Chiefs would be actively involved in the training of ad-hoc staff for the exercise that will soon commence.
He pointed out that the new INEC was determined to purge the system of all forms of electoral malpractices, saying that hiding under the tradition to use the palace for rigging would not be allowed, adding that the law is not a respecter of any person, age and position.
In his response, the Ona of Abaji expressed appreciation at the bold steps being taken by the commission to use NYSC members for the 2011 elections, rather than just picking people on the street who will later collaborated with politicians to rig.
He advised politicians hiding under religion to perpetrate malpractices to put it aside and play the game according to rules, adding that elections in the past failed due to wrong approach.
The monarch then advocated for enough materials and its early arrival as well as staff welfare so as to nip in the bud any likely hitch, noting that any lasting solutions to electoral problems will be be welcomed by the traditional council.
By Lateef Ibrahim, Ayodele Adegbuyi, Johnchuks Onuanyim, Abuja & Chris Ejim, Yenagoa
